Investment #1

Arthur groans into his pillow in annoyance. "It's been three weeks since I turned sixteen, which means that it's also been three weeks in school."

Getting up from the mattress, Arthur walks past a snoring George beside a pile of books. "The diligent giant as usual."

Arthur shed his used clothes and folded them neatly to his own pile, besides two others. He entered the shower and turned it to hot.

Leaning forward on the wall, Arthur watched the warm water trickle through his hair and down his back and chest.

"Alexander, Vincent, and Sabine have been quite thorough with training. I can see the difference in my own body." Arthur smirked. "I think I got a tad taller and much more muscular. Alexander does not take no for an answer." he scoffed bitterly.

Arthur exited the bath and dried himself before putting on the uniform that seemed to get snugger over each passing week. "I don't wake up for my early morning runs anymore because I receive enough exercise," he said to himself.

After making sure his belongings are in order, Arthur woke both of his roommates as they were known to oversleep. "Wake up, idiots."

"W--wha-- oh, good morning..." George yawned.

"Good morning to you too." David greeted back.

With a huff, Arthur exited the dorm room. "See you during lunch." he waved goodbye.

Taking a slow walk through the dormitory halls on his way to the exit, Arthur noted the lack of students. Although he no longer went on morning runs, he was still early.

"Augh..." Arthur groaned silently with every step he took. "Damn leg day."

As he journeyed to the school building, he occupied himself with his thoughts and the morning warmth of the sun.

"At first, I thought I was one of those super-overpowered protagonists that could be good at anything-- but I was not. Training under those three has been hell, but I'm slowly getting used to it. It still hurts like hell though."

"Over the three weeks that I've been in this academy, I've learned many things in the academy. Some of the things I've learned were normal school things about this world."

"Geography, Names of places, what a Moonroot herb is-- It has been a very pleasant experience. Knowledge of this vast new reality of mine had been beneficial to me."

"On that note, I discovered what three meant to my traitorous professor. It meant three hundred thousand Sterlings, or British pounds in earth terms.  It was a mind-boggling amount, No wonder she was so stingy with the money."

"With some basic math, three hundred sterling equals 474,194,279.70 won. Adding that to my five hundred thousand winnings from the casino for a grand total of 1,263,989,726.40 won-- I'm swimming in money as of now."

"spending three days for workout and training and the other three for recuperating from the training-- Im only left with one day for me, but the benefit I am gaining from being under their tutelage makes it all worth it.

Arriving at the school entrance gate, Arthur saw two familiar faces. It seems that they both noticed him too and slowed down their pace.

"Good morning, Ellis. Good morning, Francis." Arthur greeted.

They smiled softly at him. "Good morning to you too," they said in unison.

"How has your morning been?" Ellis asked as they both walked together with Francis walking behind them.

"I dunno'" Arthur shrugged. "It just started."

Ellis chuckled at his response. "That is true."

"So how was your morning?"

"It had been eventful, the head maid hurt herself and the manor was in disarray."

"That sounds like a pain, Is she okay?"

"A broken femur and a sprained joints. She will recover." She replied.

Arthur nodded. "Give her my best regards, maids of the Simmons house are treated quite well."

Francis nodded. "They should be, after all, our people are part of our pride."

Arthur looked back at the man and nodded. "If only the other houses were like yours, the capital would be a better place if it were." he sighed bitterly hidden under a smile.

The old butler stopped in his tracks just at the entrance of the building. "Farewell milady, this is where we depart. Arthur, please keep looking out for Ellis."

"Yes Sir!" The boy playfully saluted the man, earning a slap from Ellis. "Owie..."

They enter the halls and slowly make their way toward the cafeteria. Arthur broke the silence with a question, remembering what week it was and why George was studying so hard.

"Are you ready for the examinations, Ellis?" Arthur asked, getting her attention.

"That I am." Ellis coughed, slightly bashful. "Thanks to your tutoring that is," she added.

[ Ellis Simmons' favorability: +00.01 ] [ 1.22% / 100.00% ]

Arthur smirked proudly. "Of course, I taught you after all." He said, with a shit-eating grin. 

They both arrive at the cafeteria and they split ways. "Oops, this is my stop. See you in class." he waved, not turning back. 

Arthur walked up to the lunch chaperones on the commoner's side. "Ugh, creamy mushroom soup with soft cornbread. It was good at first, but after three weeks, im starting to get sick of it."

"Patience, our living situation will improve when the principal stays in power. I just have to be patient." Arthur reassured himself. 

He found a table near the exit and sat down to eat. "I've also noticed how Ellis's favorability goes up. It does not mean much but it's an increase nonetheless. I guess this means our friendship is progressing."

Arthur huffed, taking another bite. "Come to think of it, I've never really had many friends back in my previous life, but I guess this life is different. That's good."

Returning the tin tray, Arthur briskly walked back to the Classroom. "Anyway, another reason why this week would be stressful for many is the consecutive tests. All the subjects would be taken directly after the other-- I hope I studied enough."

Entering the classroom, Arthur took note of the new setting made by the school staff. 

" It seems this place values examinations quite a lot. " Arthur huffed, journeying to his seat.

Each of the tables had been modified with separators set between each seat, turning them into modern-day cubicles used in offices. 

"They even use noise-canceling magic, or air manipulation, to disable the ability of any student to cheat. Talk about serious." 

There stress radiating from most present in the room was practically tangible.

Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but even his ears couldn't hear his own voice. Looking at a wall clock, class starts in just a few minutes. 

" The downside of this system is some students fail not because of the difficulty of the examinations, but because of the lack of sound. The silence of not hearing their own voice would be stressful." 

Sitting down on his spot, Arthur took out his writing materials and sighed deeply. 

"Let's do this!" He said, booming with confidence, even though his voice couldn't be heard.

The teacher responsible for the respective subject walked in, with a large stack of papers in hand. After a long process of passing the stack and procuring your own, only then would you be able to start taking the test. Even with an hour for each subject, the sun seemed to set faster today. Soon, the bell signaling lunchtime would ring.

Ding! Dong! 

The loud sound of the school bell shocked many, causing a minor uproar filled with screams and shrieks. The large hammer collided with the bell, echoing loudly in everyone's ears.

"Whaa!"

"Kyaa!"

Arthur plugged his ears. "hypersensitivity after sensitivity deprivation is one pain in the ass." He grumbled, head ringing from the sound. "why is it so damn loud too."

The students immediately left their test sheets and rushed over to their own circle of friends. 

"The test was so hard!"

"I definitely failed~ Uwaaa~"

The pain in his ear multiplied greatly. Arthur had to leave the classroom to free himself from it all. "Lunchtime should be exceptionally bad right now, everyone would be scampering about for their books and their friends, probably passing answers or whatever kids do these days."